Water Lilies
by xXxMystical-DreamerxXx
Summary: "But . . . why would you choose me?" "Because," he replied, tilting her chin up with his cold fingers, "you are the one and only for me." The couple embraced, blue eyes meeting blue eyes for a moment, then the slightly taller one swam away, leaving the girl in the dark. Enter this mysterious world full of love, lies, and fate. If you could change your destiny, would you?
1. Chapter 1

_Preface_

"But . . . why would you choose me?"

"Because," he replied, tilting her chin up with his cold fingers, "you are the one and only for me." The couple embraced, blue eyes meeting blue eyes for a moment, then the slightly taller one swam away, leaving the girl in the dark.

* * *

Kairi plopped down in her seat. Blowing her long reddish hair out of her eyes, she slid her bag off of her shoulders and sighed. _Another boring day. _

She idly doodled on her composition book, drawing a smiley face, a heart, then a –

_SLAM!_

Kairi jumped, her seat skidding back a few inches as she looked up to stare at the person who had frightened her. She scowled. "Riku . . .!" she complained. "Do we have to go through this every day?"

The silver-haired boy lifted up his hand and smirked. "Yeah," he said, leaning forward slightly. "I guess so."

Despite her annoyance with her best friend, Kairi smiled slightly. "I guess I'll miss this when you're sick or something."

"You should," Riku said matter-of-factly, straightening his posture. "Who else would keep your pretty face smiling so much?"

The bell rang then, and Riku unhurriedly slipped into his seat next to Kairi. Miss Aqua walked in as it was ringing, clutching her binder in one hand, and her coffee thermos in the other. At Destiny High, students were expected to call teachers by their first names only because it was said it would "strengthen the bonds between teacher and student" and whatnot. Kairi guessed it was working – no one ever really disrespected the teachers.

Well, she noted wryly, except for Seifer. Seifer didn't treat anybody respectfully. But then again, every utopian society had at least one bad apple. And Destiny High was no exception.

"Hi everyone," Aqua said with her gentle smile. "Happy Monday" – it was met with a chorus of groans, including Kairi – "I hope you all had a great weekend. Ventus kinda spit up his food on me this morning, so that's why I was running late today."

Kairi laughed along with the rest of the class. Ventus was her 1-year-old adopted son. Everyone adored him almost as much as they adored Aqua. Kairi loved babysitting him after school if her teacher was busy.

"We are going to begin with the addition of a new student today. His name is – well, I'll let him introduce himself."

A boy who was sitting in the back of the room stood up and walked to the front of the class. "Hello, my name is Sora Ishimoto. I'm sixteen years old and I love the ocean. I grew up on the other side of Destiny Islands where the ocean was pure and untouched."

Kairi noted that his eyes began to become distant.

"It was nice there," he ended lamely.

Aqua stood up from her desk and patted Sora on the shoulder. "I hope you will all make Sora feel welcome," she said, mock-glaring at her class. Aqua glanced around, and then her eyes fell on Kairi.

_Oh no, _Kairi thought.

"Kairi, why don't you take Sora on a tour around Destiny High? Then he'll be more acquainted with the school's layout and he won't be as lost. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes ma'am," Kairi said quietly.

Aqua smiled warmly. "Thank you. I knew I could count on you."

Kairi winced internally. She loved her teacher and would never disappoint her if she could, but she sensed something _off _about Sora Ishimoto. She felt like he didn't exactly _belong _here. He talked about the ocean as if he had practically grown up in it. It made her uneasy . . .

Aqua was still talking. ". . . that okay, Riku? Kairi?"

Kairi jumped. "What?"

"I asked if it was okay for me to switch Riku and Sora's seats so Sora could get to know you better."

Kairi looked pleadingly at her teacher, then at Riku. _Help me! _she screamed inside her head at her best friend. Riku just shook his head and shrugged as if he was saying, _I can't do anything about it._

She sighed, defeated. "It's okay, Aqua," Kairi said glumly.

"Thanks again, Kairi. Oh, and can you look after Ven after school? I have a teachers' meeting to attend later."

Kairi nodded. Ugh, she was so obedient! Not that she minded looking after Ven, but she lost her best friend and her afternoon in five minutes. It was exhausting. Maybe she'd ask Riku to come over to Aqua's house and do homework . . .

"So . . . you're Kairi?" a hesitant voice asked.

"No, I'm your dog," she snapped, glaring at Sora. "'Course I'm Kairi."

His blue eyes averted her gaze. "I'm . . . sorry?"

Kairi slumped in her seat, her head resting on her desk. This was going to be a _long _day.

* * *

"I have swimming right now, so you can just stay here," Kairi said, steering Sora toward the bleachers. "You don't have a sport yet since you're new, but this is the period for it."

The Destiny High pool was outdoors, and since the islands were always warm, swimming was available the whole school year long. But there were two separate seasons: actual swimming and synchronized swimming.

Kairi was on the swim team and her best stroke was freestyle. She was pretty decent at the other three strokes, but she absolutely loved freestyle.

As she was walking to the locker rooms, she felt a hand on her arm. Kairi whipped around, annoyed. It was Riku.

"Riku . . ." she protested.

Kairi's best friend grinned. "Be careful out there, Kai."

She grinned back. "Always, Ri."

Riku released her arm and walked to the boys' locker rooms to get changed. Kairi rolled her eyes and went to the girls' rooms.

Kairi twirled the dial of her locker – _35, 12, 27, 15._ She pulled her swimsuit and goggles out of her bag, slipped off her school shoes, then slammed the locker shut.

Once she was changed, Kairi snapped her auburn hair into a ponytail and put on her goggles. She dove into the pool, and began doing her warmup.

Kairi lost herself in the rhythm . . . and in a memory . . .

_"Come on, Kaiwi! Let's go!"_

_Kairi giggled. She followed the blonde into the water, struggling to keep over the waves. She saw the blonde hair bobbing in the ocean, and swam faster, trying to reach the girl. And then . . . Kairi toppled backward as a huge surge hit her. She woke up in her mother's arms, dazed and with no sister._

Kairi growled. She swam faster . . . and faster . . . drowning her memories in the chlorine-filled pool.

When she surfaced for air, she was vaguely aware that she had been crying.

* * *

Kairi wrung out her sopping hair. She had already changed back into her uniform and had left Sora out there, bored, for about an hour. Kairi picked up her bag and ran out of the locker room.

She smiled when she saw a flash of silver hair. "Riku!" she called. "Wait up!"

The boy slowed down and waited for Kairi to catch up. Short of breath, she managed to say, "We have to get Sora from the bleachers."

Riku snorted. "What are you, his mom?"

Kairi ignored him and walked over to Sora. He was staring longingly at the water. When she tapped his shoulder, he jumped. "Oh, hi Kairi. You finished?"

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously." But she smiled just to show that she was kidding. "I saw that you were looking at the water. Are you planning on joining?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Should we get going?" Sora said, changing the subject. He stood up and stepped off the bleachers, following Kairi.

"We're gonna go to our next class with Riku." She gestured to the silver-haired boy, whose aquamarine eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"So you're Sora?" Riku asked, glaring.

"Yeah . . .?"

Riku's glare was quickly replaced with a smile. "I'm just messing with ya." He stuck out his hand. "Hey, I'm Riku. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Sora politely answered.

As the three of them walked to their next class, biology, Kairi was amazed at how well Sora seemed to fit in with them. His ocean-blue eyes seemed to glow with childish excitement as he chattered away with Riku.

"So where are you from?" Riku asked.

Sora scratched his spiky brown hair. "Um, on another island part of Destiny. I moved here after a sort of . . . ah, disagreement with my family."

"So you just _applied_ here and they accepted you?" Kairi asked incredulously. She and Riku were here on scholarship!

"Yeah, why not?"

"You must have good grades," she mused. "No wonder they let you in."

Sora nodded. "Pretty good ones."

There was a pause. Other kids swerved around the trio, as if they were rocks blocking parts of a stream.

"Just warning you," Riku whispered before they entered the classroom, "Marluxia is _obsessed _with flowers. Don't be surprised if he demands your favorite one."

Sora laughed. It was a clear, melodious sound. "Don't worry," he replied easily. "It's a water lily."

As the three teens sat down together, Kairi began to think. _A water lily . . ._ she thought. _That's my favorite flower, too._

* * *

**Okay! So that's the first chapter. :) I'm not sure about updates yet, but I'll try to get at least once a week. **

**We'll see some SoKai eventually. They just met, so they're sort of friends now. I still have no idea where I'm going with this, but I think I have a pretty good idea.**

**Reviews would be welcomed!**

**Peace,**

**xXxMystical-DreamerxXx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Well, here's another installment of ****_Water Lilies_****! Thank you so much to anyone who's reading this, and please enjoy!**

**Oh, and disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, why would I be posting fanfiction?**

* * *

II

Kairi trailed her fingers on the surface of the water. She was at home, feeding her two fish, Eska and Desna.

Her mother was out grocery shopping _again_, and Kairi was looking for something to do. Kairi's mom took _forever_ picking out groceries at the store, so Kairi opted to stay at home this time with the promise that she'd do all the chores – which she'd already done. Kairi washed the dishes, swept the floor, cleaned her room, did the laundry, _and_ fed the fish. All before two.

The school week had finally drawn to a close, and all the students began winding down for the weekend. Many had gone to the beach, and Kairi had been invited by Selphie, but she just didn't feel up to it after all the work.

Kairi took her fingers out of the water, just as her phone rang. She flipped her hair and put the phone up to her ear. "'Lo?"

"Hey, Princess."

"Hi Riku!" she responded. Kairi had no clue why Riku called her "Princess" – it's not like she acted like one. Maybe if she was in some video game, she'd be one . . .

"Do ya wanna go to the play island later?" A pause. "Sora's gonna be there," Riku hinted. "I asked him to come." Kairi heard a familiar chuckle. "He's actually standing next to me right now, and we're impatiently waiting for you."

Kairi sighed. "Do I have any choice?"

"Nope!" Riku replied cheerfully.

"I'll be there in ten," Kairi said, hastily scribbling a note to her mom informing her where she had went.

* * *

And so that's how Kairi spent her Saturday afternoon with her oldest friend . . . and her newest one as well. They rowed across the water, each in their separate boats. As always, Riku won. Kairi came in second, and Sora in third.

This surprised Kairi slightly. She would've thought Sora had more upper body strength. His body was lean and fit like a swimmer's, and – no. Do _not_ think about his body.

Her rowboat bumped gently against the dock. Kairi swung her bag onto her back and clambered out. Sora and Riku were already waiting further down, waving.

Smiling, she ran across the sand, splashing some on her bare calves.

"Took you long enough!" Sora teased, his ocean-blue eyes filled with mischief. "Riku and I raced each other. We would've waited for you, except you were taking too long!"

Riku yawned and scratched his head. "While you two lovebirds are staring into each other's eyes, I'm going in the water."

Kairi averted her gaze and blushed. "Shut up, Riku," she mumbled. Then she glanced up at Sora. "Wanna go in?"

He immediately recoiled. "No . . . no thanks. The water's not really my thing," he stammered.

Kairi lifted an eyebrow. "Not your thing? On Monday, I saw you looking at the pool."

He took a step back. "I really don't want to, Kairi. Is a traumatic accident enough for you?" Then he sighed. "I'm getting over it, though. I can manage pool water."

"I – I'm sorry." Kairi hesitated. Would it be rude to ask what happened? In the end, she decided against it.

He smiled. "S'okay. You didn't know." He gave her a gentle shove toward the ocean. "Go on. Have fun."

"But what about you?"

Sora plopped down on the sand and grinned up at her. "Sandcastles!"

He looked pretty adorable there, his brown hair sticking wildly in all directions. _No! You are _not_ going to fall on live with this boy. You've only known him for a week!_ Kairi brushed her bangs out of her eyes, then slipped out of her cover-up. She tossed it on her bag along with her favorite purple slippers and wandered over to the waves.

Kairi sat down and shivered as the cold water splashed on her ankles. She squinted at the water, where Riku was waiting patiently for her.

"Isn't Sora coming in too?" he asked, swimming up to her.

"The ocean's not exactly his best friend," she explained quietly.

Riku nodded. They swam deeper into the ocean and bobbed in the surf for a while, splashing each other gleefully. Then suddenly, Riku dove under, yanking Kairi's leg along with him.

Yelping, Kairi only had just enough time to breathe in enough air before she was pulled under. Pushing off the sea floor, Kairi broke the surface, gasping. When Riku came up for air, she slapped him. Hard.

"What was that for?" she demanded.

"Owww . . ." Riku complained. "I thought it'd be fun if I decided to dunk you."

"_Dunk me?_"

"Uh . . . yeah?"

Kairi poked Riku in the chest. "Don't do that again," she scolded.

"Yes ma'am," he responded cheekily.

Kairi must've been looking skeptical, because Riku kept protesting his innocence. "I promised, Kai! I won't do it again –"

"I'm in my element!" Kairi screamed, grinning wickedly. She quickly splashed huge waves of seawater in Riku's face. Years ago, Kairi's mother told her that her name, Kairi, was derived from a word meaning "sea." So when Kairi was ever near the ocean, she felt a special connection to it.

"Bring it on, Princess," Riku said, laughing.

Once the challenge was finished (Riku had won by pinning Kairi's hands behind her back), both teens swam back to the shore, where Sora was busy building his huge sandcastle. "Hi guys," he greeted them. "Did ya have fun?"

Kairi nodded with a straight face. Then she shoved Riku, making him tumble back in the water. Sora jumped up, clearly torn between wanting to help his friend, and his supposed fear of the ocean.

Just then, Riku came up, spluttering. "Whatcha do that for?"

Kairi laughed. "Payback," she sang.

"Truce?" Riku grumbled, sticking out his hand.

"Truce."

"Hey, what're these things?" Kairi looked around for the source of the voice, and found that Sora had wandered over to the bridge and was sitting in the paopu tree.

"Those are paopu fruits, Sora," she explained, cupping her hands around her mouth to further amplify her voice. "Native only to Destiny Islands." Then she furrowed her brows. "But wouldn't you know that, being from the other side of Destiny?"

"We didn't have any of those there," he quickly replied. "I would think I'd recognize a weirdly-shaped fruit like this." He plucked off a yellow star and examined it, twirling it around in his hands. He then jumped off the bridge and ran back in Kairi and Riku's direction.

Sora skidded to a stop, dusting their legs with sand. "Whoops. Sorry," he said sheepishly.

Riku waved it off. "No biggie, dude." He picked the fruit out of Sora's hands. "Do you know the significance of a paopu fruit, Sora?" he said seriously.

He shook his head.

Riku glanced at Kairi. "Care to explain, Princess?"

She shrugged. Why not? "There's a legend here," she said. "If you share a paopu with someone you truly care about, your destinies will become intertwined. It's an annual tradition for graduating senior couples to eat them after homecoming."

"It's a really big commitment," Riku added. "We all take the legend very seriously."

Sora laughed. "Well, have you guys shared one with anybody yet?" he joked.

Kairi and Riku glanced at each other. "No," they admitted together.

"I've been waiting until the time was right," Kairi confessed. "I never knew who to ask. It would be kinda awkward, y'know?"

"Why don't you share one with me and Riku?" Sora suggested. "I mean, you guys have only known me for a week, and we're already pretty tight. It's hard to imagine a day without you two."

"Yeah, we're pretty unforgettable," Riku said, smirking.

Kairi grinned back. The sun was beginning to set, and the rays cast a golden glow on her friends' faces. "I think that's a great idea," she said.

Riku split the fruit in thirds. "To us," he toasted.

"To us."

"To us!"

And that was how Kairi spent her Saturday afternoon – with the people she admittedly cared most about in the world.

* * *

**Okay, here's the end of this chapter. I inserted a small preview of what's up to come. It'll probably be easy to figure out who "he" is. :) **

_Somewhere deep in the ocean . . ._

"Roxas, have you found him yet?"

"No, Father. I'll continue searching." The blonde stood at attention at his father's "feet."

"Bring him back soon. This kingdom needs him."

"Do I have permission to go to the mainland?" Roxas asked, hands around his two Keyblades.

". . . Yes, but only if you can't locate him around here. _Promise me, Roxas._"

"I promise."

As the boy turned to leave, his father added, "And Roxas? Please try to avoid using your Keyblades on the mainland. And _don't reveal our secret._"

Giving a curt nod, the blonde quickly disappeared in the inky blackness of night.

". . . and if I don't find him, Dad is gonna seriously _freak out._" Roxas said, running a hand through his blond spikes.

The girl sitting across from him cupped her head in her hands. "Why'd he run away anyway?"

"I'm not exactly sure," he admitted. "Dad wanted to talk to him privately about a week ago, and he disappeared the next day. I don't know what to do."

"You'll find him," the girl said, patting Roxas's shoulder. "I know it."

* * *

**Please review!**

**~xXxMystical-DreamerxXx**


	3. Chapter 3

**A huge THANK YOU to Solidus-AI who was the first reviewer! You absolutely made my day. **

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

III

Roxas swam around, his gray-blue tail swishing nervously. "Sora!" he called. "Sora!" Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, I'm sure Sora's okay," said the voice behind him.

"Naminé," he sighed, spinning around. "I'm sorry, I'm just really worried." It was true – Roxas had been searching for his younger twin for days, but had seen no sign of him. He wondered what made him run off. Was it . . . ?

Naminé rubbed her pale arms subconsciously. Roxas noticed that Naminé had taken to doing that whenever she was worried. Well, they both were. "Your father wants to see you," she finally spoke.

"Is it about –"

"Yeah."

Roxas and Naminé had known each other for so long they could tell what the other was about to say. They _were_ best friends.

Together, they swam off to the palace where King Terra resided.

"Roxas, have you found him yet?"

"No, Father. I'll continue searching." The blonde stood at attention at his father's "feet."

"Bring him back soon. This kingdom needs him."

"Do I have permission to go to the mainland?" Roxas asked, hands around his two Keyblades.

". . . Yes, but only if you can't locate him around here. _Promise me, Roxas._"

"I promise."

As the boy turned to leave, his father added, "And Roxas? Please try to avoid using your Keyblades on the mainland. And _don't reveal our secret._"

Giving a curt nod, the blonde quickly disappeared in the inky blackness of night.

". . . and if I don't find him, Dad is gonna seriously _freak out._" Roxas said, running a hand through his blond spikes.

Naminé cupped her head in her hands. "Why'd he run away anyway?"

"I'm not exactly sure," he admitted. "Dad wanted to talk to him privately about a week ago, and he disappeared the next day. I don't know what to do."

"You'll find him," Naminé said, patting Roxas's shoulder. "I know it."

So Roxas had wandered around the shores of Destiny Islands (stealing some clothes from a store to cover up), searching for his brother. His necklace with the X-shaped pendant was safely tucked under his newly-acquired shirt – so Roxas looked human. As long as the chain was around his neck, he was good.

Roxas wondered if he could locate Sora through their necklaces because they were connected. If he concentrated hard enough, maybe. Roxas closed his eyes and searched for the energy of Sora's pendant. He sifted around other energies and finally located him.

Roxas opened his eyes and began walking in the direction of the blazing light that was his brother.

Meanwhile, Sora was lying in bed examining his pendant. He could see his reflection in the smooth silver of the crown, but then he dropped it because it suddenly glowed red-hot. _What was that?_

Slightly uneasy, Sora slipped the chain back in his pocket and ran to school.

* * *

Kairi was trying to think of a way to get Sora back in the water. She was sitting on the edge of the pool, waiting for the person ahead of her to finish his lap. Sora was always looking at the water so longingly it made her almost jealous, but he never actually got in. She also noticed that he frequently fingered a silver chain around his neck, as if it was a good-luck talisman.

Were the two connected? Could Sora be hiding something from her and Riku? Kairi knew that they all shared a paopu fruit and that their destinies were intertwined, but did that mean they had to share everything? Kairi's head buzzed with questions.

When she finally dove in the water, Kairi still had no idea where to start.

After school, Kairi cornered Sora and demanded that they go to the beach. He protested, saying that it was a school night and he had a lot of homework, but Kairi silenced him with a look and said that she'd be over at his house later.

Kairi had already been to Sora's house (well, it was a bit small to be classified as a house) before – the two of them were working on an English paper together – so she marched determinedly to her destination wielding nothing but a duffel bag and a towel. When she came up to the door, she heard muffled voices arguing angrily with each other. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she rapped on the door impatiently.

The whispers stopped. Kairi then heard soft footsteps coming to the door, then a click before it opened. "Hi Kairi," Sora said wearily. His blue eyes, normally so clear, were cloudy with worry and doubt. "It's kind of a bad time."

"But –"

"Yeah, I know, but _someone"_ –Sora raised his voice– "decided to stop by for an unexpected visit!"

Kairi peered around Sora's body and saw a blonde boy sitting tensely at the table. His fingers were curled around the air, as if he was trying to pull something out of it. His blue eyes were the exact same shade as Sora's.

"That's my brother, Roxas," Sora explained, letting Kairi in.

"Are you twins?" she asked stupidly.

"Yeah," he replied. "But if we didn't say anything, I don't think anyone could actually tell."

_No,_ Kairi wanted to blurt out, _you both have the same color eyes. A beautiful blue that I could just drown in._ She loved Sora's eyes.

"Sora, if you won't come home," Roxas said, standing up, "terrible things will happen. Dad will" –he glanced in Kairi's direction– "never mind," he sighed. He walked to the pair. "At least let me come with you."

"And have you watch over me like I'm five?" Sora snapped. "I think I can manage." He grabbed his bag by the door. "I'm not going to come home anytime soon, Rox. Not when I'm going to –" he choked on the last words and swallowed them down.

Kairi watched fearfully as the two boys glared at each other. She could practically cut through the tension in the air. "Let's go, Kairi," Sora muttered, finally tearing his eyes away from his brother.

* * *

"Do you hate Roxas?" Kairi questioned timidly as they were heading to the beach. It would take too much time to go to the play island, so they opted to go to the main shoreline.

Sora looked at Kairi in surprise, like he was astonished that someone would ever ask that question. "No, why?" he asked, brows furrowed.

Kairi wasn't sure how to answer that. She expected Sora to go on a full ranting spree about Roxas, but then he looked so surprised that someone would even suggest they hated each other.

"Um, 'cause you guys were arguing, and you looked pretty angry," Kairi finally said, selecting her words carefully.

Sora shook his head. "I don't _hate_ Roxas," he replied, staring straight ahead. "He's like, my best friend. But . . . the reason I left home? It's complicated. Our dad is making _Roxas_ make _me_ come back." He looked at Kairi, his blue irises boring into her own. "Get what I mean?"

She nodded. Complicated families she could understand. She didn't have one herself, but after what happened to her sister. . . .

The crunching of gravel eventually turned into the soft shifting of sand. "We're here," Sora said, which seemed kind of unnecessary to Kairi. "So why are we here again?"

"I'm going to make you go in the water," she said, as they set their bags on the beach.

Sora's eyes widened. "I'm not sure that's such a great idea . . ." he said, backing away from her.

But Kairi had already surged forward, knocking Sora to the ground. She was on top, their faces so close together she could feel his warm breath. He smelled like the sea.

Sora fidgeted, blushing. "Uh, Kairi?"

Kairi realized that she had subconsciously lowered herself onto Sora's chest, her arms tightly around him. She quickly scrambled up, dusting sand off of her pink dress. "Sorry," she said, turning slightly red.

Sora stood up and drifted to the waves lapping against the shore. "Maybe . . . nothing will happen," he murmured, fingering the chain that was around his neck.

Kairi thought he was mumbling to himself, rather than to her. Nonetheless, she stayed silent, urging him to step further in.

Sora lifted one foot, dreamlike, and stepped into the surf. As Kairi watched, Sora's eyes seemed to burn brighter, and his already tan skin began to almost glow. He waded further in, not even bothering to remove his shirt.

Then he dove under.

It happened so suddenly that Kairi yelped. She had been watching Sora so intently that the sudden movement startled her. Kairi hadn't planned on going in the water with him, but she brought a towel anyway. "Sora?" she said, tiptoeing to try to see under the ocean.

Then he broke the surface, gasping, sending water droplets flying everywhere. His brown hair was still firmly sticking out even though he had been underwater.

He came back to the shore and took his towel out of his bag. He dried himself off and stuck it back in.

They walked home together, Sora visibly relieved that the ocean wouldn't harm him. Kairi kept congratulating him, even when she departed from his home. She waved bye to the two boys and left.

But what stuck in Kairi's head the most was that when Sora came out of the water, she noticed that he wasn't even wet.

* * *

**A quick explanation: the necklaces are what enables Sora and Roxas to become human. The idea just came to me as I was writing this chapter, so that's why they were never mentioned in the previous chapters. And as for the Keyblades? Well, I'm trying to think of a way to give them a greater part in this story.**

**And I apologize if this chapter was confusing. I'm just making this up as it goes along. Heck, even _I_ don't know where this is leading!**

**Anyway, I'd love any ideas for future development. And remember: Reviews make me happy!**

**~xXxMystical-DreamerxXx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello there! I was hoping to do a Christmas-related chapter sometime, since tomorrow is - you know, Christmas! Well, I haven't exactly had a chance to do one, but there's at least a mentioning of it. :)**

**So enjoy the latest installment!**

* * *

IV

Kairi sure wasn't expecting Sora to come in early. She definitely had no idea he'd be dragging Roxas in tow. As she and Riku watched from the doors of the school, Sora was, in fact, early.

"Hi!" he said brightly, jerking Roxas to a stop. Sora released his twin's arm, making the blonde rub the abused area. Kairi glanced warily at Roxas and was surprised that he looked rather self-conscious in Destiny's traditional uniform, fidgeting continuously with the tie and the hem of his shirt.

Back at Sora's house, Roxas seemed so confident and powerful, but now – he was in an uncomfortable situation he'd rather not be in. "Hey, Roxas," Kairi said, trying to sound welcoming. "How are you?"

"Fine, I guess. Thanks anyway, Kairi," he said softly.

"How do you know him?" Riku said, pulling the blue entrance doors open. "I'm Riku, by the way," he said absently to Roxas.

"We met before," Kairi said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"We're twins," Sora explained. "He suddenly appeared at my house last night" –he glanced meaningfully at the blonde– "so I decided to bring him here."

They entered the building.

"How are you gonna get him in anyway?" Riku asked.

Kairi was wondering about that herself. And wait a sec – how did _Sora_ get in Destiny High anyway? She made a mental note to ask him later.

"Talk to the principal," Sora said casually. "It'd be easy! Um, hopefully."

Roxas hadn't said much during the conversation, but he did a sort of snort/grunt.

Sora's eyebrows furrowed. "What's up?" he asked.

"Imagining you talking like a sane person," Roxas said. "It made me laugh."

Kairi and Riku laughed while Sora complained, "Hey, I'm not that bad at being serious! I can be serious!"

The four weaved in and around the rest of the student body; from small, skinny freshmen to giant, hulking seniors, and they eventually arrived in front of Miss Aqua's homeroom. "I'll see you guys during swimming!" Sora called, Roxas trailing awkwardly after him.

"See ya!" Kairi called back, waving.

As she and Riku entered the room, Riku asked, "What did he mean, 'see you at swimming'?"

"Oh," Kairi replied, smirking, "I dragged him to the beach and made him get in the ocean."

He laughed. "You get make a cat get into the water, the way you are," Riku murmured. "You're pretty scary, Princess."

"Thank you," Kairi said, mock-curtsying.

When Aqua walked in, Riku moved back to his seat, and Kairi settled back into hers.

"Where's Sora?" Aqua asked, looking around. Then she rolled her blue eyes. "Oh yes, he's trying to fill out an application for his brother! I forgot."

Kairi fidgeted in her seat. Roxas also had this strange aura of power around him. Like Sora at first, Roxas made her feel a bit uneasy. Well, the two boys were enigmas. Sora still adamantly refused to tell Kairi and Riku where he was from, no matter how much they pestered him.

Even with all the things that Sora wasn't telling them, Kairi still had this strange feeling that she could trust him. His friendly and lovable persona was just one part. But his loyalty made him a great friend, also. Sora was an amazing person, and –

Kairi wondered what made him want to run away so badly . . .

"Name . . . Roxas . . . um, Ishimoto," Sora said, writing carefully. Atlantica had these special pens that could write underwater, so everyone was literate in one way or another.

"Ishimoto?" Roxas said skeptically. "Where'd that come from?"

Sora lowered his voice. "I heard that humans had two names, so I kinda took the first one I saw. There was this _fish_ shop called Ishimoto's Seafood Palace, so . . . yeah," he said sheepishly.

"You have to fill in the birthday, age, and the address," Roxas pointed out.

"Okay, okay, sheesh." Sora neatly wrote the information on the page. Were high-school applications really this easy? He wondered if they knew what he and Roxas were . . .

"Shut up, self," Sora said aloud.

"What?" Roxas was looking at him curiously. "Something wrong?"

"Nah," Sora said sheepishly. "But, um" –he gestured to the very visible _X_-shaped pendant– "keep your chain below your shirt," he advised. "It'd be better to not draw any attention to it."

Roxas nodded, then tucked the chain below his shirt. Sora quickly filled in the rest of the page and picked up the form to hand it to the principal. He entered the office and gently shut the door. "Here you go, sir," he said politely, meeting the man's gaze of gray.

Eraqus took the form and placed it carefully on his desk. "Destiny High would be happy to accept your brother," he said to Sora. "As long as you can both prove yourselves, you'll be allowed to attend."

Sora fidgeted under Eraqus's stare and looked at his shoes, subtly fixing his shirt to hide the chain. "Roxas seems to be a nice young man, like yourself. It's a shame you boys don't have a mother . . ."

Sora frowned. How had Eraqus known about their mother? He glanced up at Eraqus again, and his eyes widened. Where had the gentle gray eyes gone? In their place was a disturbingly familiar shade of amber . . .

"Well, always feel free to visit me. An old man like me gets lonely every once in a while," he said, leering at the brunette.

"Okay . . . um, bye then," Sora said uneasily, turning away. Something was _seriously _wrong.

"As to you, young prince," was the faint reply before the office door closed.

When Sora came to Roxas's side, he looked very alarmed. "What's wrong, Sora?" he asked, coming up to meet his younger brother.

"I think we're – er, _I'm_ being watched, Roxas," Sora said frantically.

"What do you mean? Are you okay?"

"Not here," Sora hissed. He pulled Roxas's sleeve to the boy's bathroom. The older twin watched as Sora moved around the room, banging on stalls and checking behind corners.

When Sora was sure they were alone, he said, "I think Xehanort's sending things after me. The principal's eyes turned amber!

"Xehanort?" Xehanort was the most feared being in the seven kingdoms of Heart. And lucky Atlantica – his lair was closet to them.

Roxas had always been afraid of the dark man. Especially since that one day when he had tried to kidnap both Sora and Naminé.

They were ten years old, playing a bit too close to the dark, and way too far from the palace. Roxas remembered small details – like that Naminé had her pearl necklace with the seashell charm on, and that Sora's hair wasn't as wild as it was today.

_"Dare you to put your tail in that shadow, Sora!" Roxas had cried. Sora protested, saying that Daddy would get mad and that that was the Lair of Darkness._

_Naminé had offered to go with Sora so he wouldn't be alone, so Sora – albeit unwillingly – accepted the dare. The two children swam slowly over and stuck their tails - pure white and deep blue – into the shadows._

_"That wasn't so bad," Roxas had said with satisfaction, hands on his hips. The three floated there, talking, when Roxas saw the creeping tendrils of darkness. "Watch out!" Roxas yelled, but it was too late. The tentacles had wrapped themselves around Naminé and Sora's bodies._

_They all screamed with fear as Naminé and Sora were slowly dragged into the deeper darkness. Terror seemed to be seeping into Roxas's structure, paralyzing him, but had caused something to snap within him._

_The young blonde roared with rage, leaping forward blindly. His fingers curled around the air and brought forth two blades that cut easily through the darkness. Roxas banished the keys and grabbed hold of his brother and friend, tugging them forward with all his might._

_The three children collapsed on the sea floor, panting with fear and exhaustion. They swore to never go near there ever again, and that was only their first experience with the Dark Lord._

The next meeting with Xehanort was when Sora got _his_ Keyblade. _But,_ Roxas mused, _I reminisced enough for today._

"But no one knows you're missing except for Dad and Nami, right? And, you know . . . her . . ." Roxas trailed off, unwilling to say the name. "And, I still have to bring you home, remember?"

"I know," Sora said unhappily. "But . . . I – I really like it here. I don't really want to be forced into a situation I don't want to. I barely _know _her! And . . . she probably feels the same way." Then his eyes widened. "But did she go to him? Was she that desperate?"

"I don't know, Sora," Roxas said, his blue eyes full of fear. "I don't know."

Kairi had arrived at the pool, and she was looking forward to getting back in. She glanced over at the other side of the pool, where the boys' swim team was warming up. Riku's silver hair flashed in the sunlight as he ripped through the water. Roxas moved more - well, fishlike thought the water.

Sora was idling by the pool's ledge, his crown necklace shining brightly. Kairi assumed that he was waiting for a good chance to hop in - the lanes were pretty crowded. She continued watching him until she was poked hard in the back by Larxene, the girls' swimming coach.

"Get swimming, and stop mooning over the boys, Gainsborough!" Larxene barked, shoving Kairi in the chilly water.

Kairi squeaked, then pushed off the side of the pool in streamline position. It was going to be Christmas soon, and Kairi hadn't even _thought_ of presents. Oh, she had a _lot_ to think about . . .

When practice was over, Larxene was reminding everyone about the swim meet in January. "This is a very big moment for us, girls! We'll kick the butts of everyone there, okay?" Larxene didn't exactly say "girls" or "butts," but . . . well, that was Larxene.

Kairi met up with the boys in the cafeteria. "So how was swimming?" she asked, popping a grape in her mouth.

"Not bad," Roxas said. "It's strange to swim without – um . . ."

"Fins," Sora chimed in. "Like, uh, _swim_ fins."

"You guys are weird," Riku remarked, picking apart his burger.

Sora grinned goofily – eyes crossed and tongue sticking out. "Thank you."

Roxas laughed. "That's the face Nami liked. Whenever we had a silly face contest, she'd always say you won."

"Who's Nami?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Um, a friend back home," Roxas said, scratching his head.

"Who's _very_ dear to Roxas," Sora teased. "He could never get over her _beautiful _blue eyes and how they shine like the stars –"

Roxas threw his hot dog wrapper at Sora. "Shut up!" Roxas yelled, blushing furiously. "I don't say that about her."

"Oh, don't be bashful!" Kairi said, grinning widely. "_You _have a _crush!_"

"I – I do not!" Roxas denied. "I swear –"

Riku laughed. "You look like a tomato!" he said, holding up his own tomato slice from his burger.

Kairi looked at Roxas. It was true. He was so red; it looked like his clear blue eyes were flashlights shining through.

"I don't think I've ever gotten red before. Is it because it's so hot here?" Roxas asked, rubbing his cheek. His color was slowly fading.

"That's weird," Kairi commented. "You should blush a lot since your skin is pretty pale. But that's kinda strange 'cuz, you know, Destiny Islands is pretty famous for being like, sunny."

"Sora and I never really had a reason to go in the sun," Roxas answered. "We just stayed in the water a lot."

The bell rang, and the four stood up.

"History," Kairi groaned, picking up her bag. "Aren't we supposed to be studying myths or something?"

"I dunno," Sora said.

"You're a big help," Kairi said, hitting him playfully.

As they sat down in the classroom, Axel said, "Well, we're supposed to be doing this myth thingy, and pick a mythical creature to research." He paused, green eyes flashing mischievously. "I'll let you guys pick your partners, but it'd better be a good choice, or _I'll _pick them for you. Now . . . _disperse!"_

Kairi clamped her arm around Riku, who was next to her. "Claimed you," she announced, grinning.

Riku rolled his eyes, but didn't object.

Roxas and Sora were seated in front of them and hadn't moved, so Kairi assumed that they'd be partners. The twins whispered among themselves, then walked up to Axel and told them what they wanted. He had a surprised look on his face, but wrote down their choice.

"What do ya want to do, Kai?" Riku asked.

"Um, what about Pegasus?" she suggested. "The flying horse thing."

"Isn't that kinda girly?"

"What do_ you _have in mind, then?" Kairi challenged.

"I was thinking . . . _Medusa._ It'd be cool to research her, because she's creepy and stuff," Riku explained. "It won't be boring."

"And we can still mention Pegasus, because he's Medusa's son, right?" Kairi asked. "Come on, we gotta tell Axel!"

When their subjects were chosen, Kairi tapped Sora on the back. "So what did you guys pick?"

"The mermaid," Sora said absently.

Kairi nudged Riku. "See? They picked something girly!"

"The mermaid is _not_ girly!" Roxas and Sora said at the same time.

"Um, sorry?"

Roxas sighed. "It's okay. We're just touchy about that subject. It's something that we're kind of defensive over."

Kairi lifted up an eyebrow. "About mermaids?"

"Never mind," Roxas said, turning back around.

Kairi frowned. The twins were getting stranger and stranger with each passing day. Kairi idly doodled on her copybook and thought exasperatedly, _This is so confusing . . . !_

* * *

**Just wondering . . . is this story moving too fast? I didn't want to mention this in the first few chapters, or in the summary, because I didn't want anyone reading this story out of pity. Well, um . . . this is actually my first fanfic. I'd really enjoy some response to this story, because it tells me that at least ****_someone_**** is reading this! :D**

**So enough with the seriousness - can someone guess who the "her" that Sora and Roxas are so reluctant to talk about? Kudos to anyone who gets it right! And also - woot! This is my longest chapter yet!**

**So . . . reviews would be welcomed!**

**~xXxMystical-DreamerxXx**


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